by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

Many student-athletes play college football. Fewer play on the FBS level. Fewer still â?? substantially fewer still â?? earn All-American honors. And of the players that earn All-American honors in the FBS, only a very select few are unanimous All-Americans; these are the elite, the cream of the crop from any particular season.

There are All-Americans, consensus All-Americans and unanimous All-Americans. To be tagged as an All-American, a player simply needs to be named to any one of 12 selecting bodies.

To be a consensus All-American, a player needs to be named as a first-team selection by at least three of the following five bodies: The Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Sporting News.

To be a unanimous All-American, you need be a first-team pick by all five. So who made the cut in 2012? Let's take a look:

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UNANIMOUS ALL-AMERICANS

USC WR Marqise Lee

Baylor WR Terrance Williams

Texas A&M OT Luke Joeckel

Alabama OG Chance Warmack

North Carolina OG Jonathan Cooper

South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney

Florida State DE Bjoern Werner

Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o

Georgia LB Jarvis Jones

Alabama CB Dee Milliner

Fresno State FS Phillip Thomas

Louisiana Tech P Ryan Allen

CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICANS

Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel

Wisconsin RB Montee Ball

Oregon RB Kenjon Barner

Arizona RB Ka'Deem Carey

Stanford TE Zach Ertz

Alabama C Barrett Jones

Arizona State DT Will Sutton

Texas A&M DE Damontre Moore

Alabama LB C.J. Mosley

Oregon State CB Jordan Poyer

Kent State RB Dri Archer

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A number of consensus All-Americans came close to nabbing unanimous accolades. Manziel was named on four teams, with Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd earning first-team honors from the AFCA. Stanford tight end Zach Ertz was named on every team but the FWAA's â?? and the FWAA listed three wide receivers and no tight end, so Ertz might have been doomed from the start.

In comparison, there were only six unanimous All-Americans a year ago, though there were 20 consensus All-Americans. In 2010, there were nine unanimous and 19 consensus All-Americans.